


He Was Warm Beside Me

by lalasagna



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Alternate Universe, Fluff, I'm Sorry, KageHina - Freeform, M/M, Magic Realism, Sadness, Slow Build, first names, implied depression?? but it's not really that obvious unless you squint, like LITERALLY he is part of the sun, literal sunshine hinata shouyou, the daisuga is like one second but i felt like i needed to mention it, warmth, wherein Hinata is from the sun and Kageyama is sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-13
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-05-13 18:57:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5713444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalasagna/pseuds/lalasagna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tobio had been alone for a while, but one day, he met a part of the sun and he wasn’t sure how he ever lived without him. He made him feel warm, the kind of warm that lingers for hours after the last of wistful goodbyes have been exchanged and the last of hopeful smiles have been given.</p><p>---<br/>In which Hinata Shouyou is a boy from the sun and Kageyama Tobio falls in love with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	He Was Warm Beside Me

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to try Magic Realism which is a genre I fell in love with the moment I laid eyes upon it. I hope I did it justice.

The first time Tobio encountered him, he thought he had been spending too much time under the sun because he found his eyes suddenly blinded. As the bright light faded, he snapped out of his reverie to direct his attention at the small boy in front of him, looking magical among the green around him. Tobio noticed his orange golden locks, shining under the bright sun, and for a moment, he entertained the fleeting thought that he would get sunburned from standing too close to him.

“Hi! My name’s Shouyou!” The boy said, and Tobio found himself getting distracted by the melodic quality in his voice.

He felt himself getting flustered as he realized Shouyou was waiting for him to introduce himself.

He brushed his hand through his hair and said, “I’m Tobio.”

Shouyou smiled up at him and Tobio caught himself thinking about how attractive and bright his newly found friend was and coughed into his hand to hide his blush. Shouyou reached for his hand and Tobio took it, pleased that he wasn’t the only one who wanted to be closer. Their hands felt right together, as if they were two pieces of the same puzzle. 

“Where are you from?” Tobio asked as they walked around with no real destination.

Shouyou didn’t meet his eyes. “From above.”

Tobio accepted the answer as the northern part of Japan, but didn’t understand why he seemed uncomfortable with that information. Did he have some troubles there? Is that why he was here? He could imagine Shouyou all gloomy and miserable and Tobio felt this urge to always stay by him to make sure nothing ever made him feel that way.

He wasn’t sure when the last time he felt this protectiveness before, but it was a long time ago. Ever since his so-called friends left him, Tobio never really made any other friends, choosing to focus on volleyball and academics instead. People were unpredictable, he concluded, and they leave you when you’re finally getting a hang of having friends. It never ended nicely.

Despite having solidified this train of thought in his mind for the past few years however, as he helped Shouyou balance himself on the root of a tree, he felt it melting at the sight. Shouyou had a small smile on his face, but it didn’t fail to emit this bright feeling that met Tobio in his eyes and spread throughout his veins like blood. He felt warmer around Shouyou and that was precisely the reason why he decided maybe there were exceptions to his rule.

His time with Shouyou was cut short, however, when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He had forgotten he had it on him. The presence of Shouyou in the small forest a few minutes from his house gave the world a temporary magical layer and had distracted him from his life. He texted his mother back, assured her that he would be home in a short while, and went to tell Shouyou of his eventual leave.

Shouyou was staring at a small group of daisies, seemingly fascinated by them and Tobio crouched beside him.

“Do you want me to pick you one?” Tobio offered.

Shouyou seemed to be offended by the statement. “What? Why?”

“Because that’s what people do,” Tobio explained, trying to downplay his pink cheeks. “They pick flowers for people they care about.”

Shouyou still had that look of confused disgust. “Why would they just _take_ the flower and let it die? After so much effort has gone to it!”

Tobio considered it for a moment, and then remembered he had to leave. He bid his goodbyes to Shouyou and Shouyou smiled back at him as he walked away. As Tobio lay in bed that night, he fully considered Shouyou’s argument against the taking of flowers. He had said it in such a way that it seemed Shouyou was connected to the flowers, as if he knew them like people and wouldn’t want them gone. Before he could completely discern the thought though, he drifted off to sleep.

He wasn’t able to visit Shouyou the next day, because he had late volleyball practice. Feeling bad for not coming to see him, he decided to bring Shouyou a present the day after, a small sketch of him. Tobio hadn’t been drawing for very long, but he enjoyed it and it seemed just right to share his still developing skills with his friend.

He would never forget how Shouyou had brightened even more when he realized what it was, his mouth opening to show all his teeth and his eyes crinkling endearingly. He smiled at the sight, his whole body absorbing the warmth Shouyou was giving out and savoring the feeling of another person being genuinely happy because of something he did. He couldn’t remember when he last felt it, but he knew he wanted to feel it again and he had a feeling it wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t Shouyou.

He went home happy after that, a small smile still on his face and the scene of Shouyou’s face slowly perking up while holding the paper gently replaying again and again on his mind. His heart was happily watching as well, the faint feeling of warmth still lingering. He absent-mindedly put his hand over his heart that night, feeling something change inside him, something good this time.

For the next few months, Tobio continued visiting Shouyou in the forest, sometimes bringing snacks for them to share, sometimes bringing a volleyball to show him how to play. Shouyou was surprisingly good at it, despite him admitting that he had never played any kind of sport before. Tobio especially liked the look on his face when they would perform a perfect quick, although Shouyou couldn’t really understand the terms very much.

It was a slightly cloudy day when Shouyou told him about where he came from. They had shared a burger a few minutes before and were idly chatting under a large tree, birds tweeting around them.

“I came from above,” Shouyou said.

“Oh,” Tobio replied. “Like, Hokkaido?”

Shouyou shook his head. “I don’t mean north. I mean from above.”

To illustrate his words, Shouyou looked up, but they were mostly covered by a canopy of leaves and branches. Tobio understood though. It made sense.

“I came from the sun,” Shouyou continued.

Tobio nodded, because it made sense. Questioning the statement was out of his will, because he knew Shouyou was telling the truth. He did, however, ask about it since it was something he had never heard before.

“I’m not really certain about the specifics, but somehow, I found myself falling down here.” Shouyou explained. “It felt weird at first, being human, but I got the hang of it after a few weeks. I used to just walk around, until I found this forest, and then I found you.”

Tobio blushed, realizing that it was because of him that Shouyou stayed. He also felt a little bad.

“I’m sorry from keeping you from travelling.” He said.

Shouyou scrunched his eyebrows at the statement. “Tobio, I stopped because I wanted to stay with you! It’s not your fault, idiot.”

Tobio was flustered for maybe the hundredth time around the mystical beautiful being that was Shouyou and moved to intertwine his fingers with the other’s smaller ones. He could feel Shouyou’s big hazel eyes staring up at him, but he couldn’t bring himself to meet the gaze. Still, he felt warm, warmer than he had ever felt before. Even when he still had friends, the warmth he felt then was nowhere near the comforting burst of affectionate warmth he felt when he was with Shouyou. Holding his hands made him realize how lucky he was.

“You’re different, Tobio,” Shouyou said, softly rubbing his fingers with Tobio’s. “You make me feel different. I don’t know what it is, but I like the feeling I get when I’m with you.”

Tobio smiled softly, a habit he had developed when he started seeing Shouyou regularly. “I feel the same.”

On rainy days, Shouyou was less warm. He still made Tobio feel warm, but he himself felt a little blue, not necessarily sad, but just blue. That’s what he told Tobio at least. Tobio held a black umbrella over them to shield them from the source of the pitter-patters around them. He didn’t mind the slightly wet feeling he went through from sitting on wet grass when Shouyou looked so nice even without any sun shining on them.

“I feel blue.” He had said while caressing Tobio’s cheek. “Not that I’m sad or anything. Just. Only the word _blue_ can explain how I’m feeling, like when I look at the color, I think _Yeah that’s what I feel_. Does that make sense?”

Tobio chuckled at his inability to describe emotions. “Yeah, I kind of understand.”

“Don’t make fun of me!” Shouyou pinched his nose.

“Hey!” Tobio said, reaching over to grab at his head.

However, he did laugh when Shouyou started pouting to guilt him and he did intertwine their fingers together when Shouyou started laughing along with him, a high-pitched sound that made Tobio think of lazy days spent perfecting his toss in summer days. It never occurred to him that Shouyou was starting to change because of him as well.

“You’re pretty,” Shouyou said one day and Tobio choked on the milk he was sipping on.

“W-What?” Tobio said after he spent five minutes sputtering out the liquid stuck in his throat.

Shouyou looked away, looking embarrassed. “I just said you’re pretty, cause it’s the truth.”

Tobio stared at the orange-haired mythical being beside him and put his arm around him, pulling them closer. “You’re beautiful.”

Tobio didn’t know when he had last complimented anyone about anything that wasn’t “Nice save!” or “Good receive,” but then he didn’t know when he last felt right with anyone either. That was what Shouyou made him feel, like they were made for each other. The thought made him laugh, but despite the ridiculous way it sounded, it sounded perfect. The lone volleyball genius and the literal part of the sun. They could go far with nothing but each other’s presence as a constant and everything would fall into place for them. Tobio really wanted that.

The sun was fluttering amongst groups of clouds and Tobio was sharing stories of his childhood, the happy times in his life before he stopped talking to everyone he deemed unnecessary in his goals in life. Shouyou teased him about being shy on the first day of kingergarten and laughed when he told the story of him drinking so much milk that he accidentally peed himself and the whole class of toddlers were crying so he cried as well and his mother had to pick him up from school to stop the tears from coming. Tobio didn’t mind as long as he got to see him happy and relished in the feeling of making someone else happy, slowly getting used to it. Shouyou was too good to him.

“You’re too good to me.” He said, one day, after they followed a lone slug and made up the slug’s life story and gave him the name Daichi and gave him a lover named Koushi and gave them a wild and complicated story that would have never been possible for a couple of slugs.

Shouyou looked up at him and gave him a small smile, one that he wanted to see a lot, especially when it was because of him. “You’re really cheesy.”

Tobio poked at his side irritated, making him laugh, until he said, “Okaaay, okay, jeez. You’re amazing.”

Tobio never understood how Shouyou could change tones so easily, but pushed that thought aside as the smaller boy suddenly pulled him over to watch a mother bird shove some crushed food in three baby birds’ beaks. Shouyou seemed engrossed in the scene, his mouth open in amazement and his eyes almost sparkling and Tobio took a moment to appreciate the pleasant sight before turning his head to the happy family.

It was another sunny day when he finally said what he had wanted to say for a few weeks now. They were holding hands, lying down on a soft grassy patch, basking in the warm sun that made Shouyou more energetic than usual and sharing stories with each other. It was after Tobio had relayed the story of the time he hit himself with a volleyball while practicing and blacked out and had to be taken to the nurse and the first thing that he said when he sat up and woke up was, “51!” which was the number of times he had been passing the volleyball between his hands and the wall and everyone on the volleyball team was there and proceeded to spend the next half hour laughing about it. Shouyou had laughed so much that Tobio had to squint to shield his eyes from the brightness and from seeing Shouyou so happy. It had pushed something inside him.

“I love you.” Tobio said certainly.

Shouyou directed his attention at him, not losing his smile, and rolled over slightly to envelop the bigger figure in his arms. Tobio returned the gesture, burying his face in tufts of Shouyou’s hair that smelled like the feeling he got when he realized how much he loved volleyball. Shouyou made himself comfortable against his chest, all warmth and beauty in such a small boy.

“I love you too.” Shouyou had said, and Tobio pulled him closer, loving the way their bodies fit together as if they were made with the specific intention of fitting the other’s.

Tobio entertained the thought of a factory of human-making machines and one of the higher-ups said something like, “Okay these two _need_ to be able to fit together, alright? Make the necessary adjustments,” while gesturing to their limp bodies and all the workers nodded knowingly. Shouyou pulled away slightly to look up at him and Tobio met his eyes without hesitation. Tobio savoured the look on his face and couldn’t imagine what he ever did to deserve the pure genuine being of happiness and energy in his arms at that very moment, but he thanked whichever deities were responsible nonetheless.

They stayed there for a while, enveloped in the physical warmth of the sun and the emotional warmth of their connection. Tobio felt himself start to accept a few pieces of hope back in his body. They felt unfamiliar but not unpleasant, especially when Tobio knew it was because of Shouyou that he finally trusted himself to begin to hope again. Shouyou had smiled at him and given him a soft peck on the cheeks when he bid his goodbyes that day.

Tobio wasn’t aware that he had been humming a long ago learned melody until his mother pointed it out, smiling happily at him. He smiled back as she welcomed him home with a heartwarming hug. He wasn’t sure what made her so happy, but he didn’t mind. She cooked him his favorite that night, pork curry, and commented on how his regular trips outside must have cheered him up somehow. He nodded along, knowing all too well why he had been feeling warm the past few months, but not willing to share the knowledge that such a beautiful being like Shouyou existed in their world full of darkness. He could grant himself a little selfishness.

He didn’t notice the outstanding change in himself until one of his classmates approached him one Tuesday afternoon and introduced herself.

“Hello!” She had said, smiling a little. “My friends think you’re really creepy, but I don’t think that at all and wanted to come over here to be friends. Oh, that might have sounded a little weird now that I think about it. Uh, I’m Yachi Hitoka!”

“Kageyama Tobio,” He said, too stunned to say anything else.

That was alright though, because Yachi Hitoka had a lot to say. She told him about her friends and her home life and her mother’s job and her recent realization that Townsperson B can be amazing too. Tobio didn’t mind. He was relieved that she seemed to enjoy his company, despite his replies being limited to “ah” and “what happened next?” and she smiled at him after that first day, thanking him for the time and he waved his hand, saying she was very nice.

Tobio told Shouyou about this event the next time he visited, a crepe ready in his hand. Shouyou took a big bite out of it before proceeding to happily reply with his mouth full.

Tobio rolled his eyes at him. “I can’t understand you, stupid. Swallow your food first.”

He didn’t mind the half-hearted punch directed at his shoulder.

“That’s amazing, Tobio!” Shouyou repeated without a mouth full this time. “Does she like volleyball too?”

“Uh, I don’t know. She never mentioned it.” Tobio answered.

“Well, I guess normal people who aren’t volleyball addicts don’t spend 80% of their time talking about volleyball like you do.” Shouyou said and dodged Tobio’s hand, laughing.

Later on, Tobio gathered the small boy in his arms and murmured sweet sentences full of affection into his ear, Shouyou smiling up into him with all his relaxed energy and underappreciated beauty. He already knew he was lucky, but he wondered if maybe he was the luckiest person alive as he watched Shouyou look up at him with all that adoration clear on his face. He brought his face down, connecting their lips in an explosion of uplifting beams of light. He could feel his face tingling in time with their movements, like a sunbeam following their mouths.

It was an understatement to say that he felt hot when he pulled away. His insides seemed to completely ignore gravitational force as they flipped over and over. Shouyou seemed to heighten his refulgence at that moment and, like many times since he had met him, Tobio never wanted to look away.

“Woah,” He said, almost unconsciously, moving his hand softly through Shouyou’s hair.

A tear fell from Shouyou’s eyes. He caught it with his fingers.

“I’m so happy.” Shouyou said, as if it was all Tobio’s doing.

All he could do was press his lips against Shouyou’s forehead and stay silent for a while. He still felt warm, but it was more of the usual comfortable warmth he always felt with Shouyou. The moment of bright light still loitered in his mind, though. Tobio guessed the feeling was close to staring at the sun for a few hours without fear of getting blinded.

Eventually, he had to leave, though. He kissed Shouyou on the cheek and promised he’d be back. Shouyou seemed to look a little glum that day, his smile not fully reaching his eyes, but Tobio guessed it was just because they had to part.

He was wrong.

When he arrived home, his mother was panicking about this earthquake warning and safety precautions. He thought nothing of it and began putting together a backpack of necessities more to appease his mother than anything else. He found a small rock in one of his drawers and recognized it as the rock Shouyou thought looked like a dog and gave to him a month ago. He never thought he would be so happy to receive a rock until that very moment. He buried it in his favorite sweater and put it in his backpack, then proceeded downstairs to help put together a box of canned foods. He didn’t really think of anything other than volleyball and Shouyou’s eyes in front of the setting sun before he fell asleep.

When he woke up the next day, he felt his gut clench. Something was wrong. He went down to see his mother watching the news intently.

“Classes are cancelled today.” She told him. “But the earthquake isn’t going to be bad enough to be dangerous for a few hours unless you go outside.”

“Okay,” He replied and went to make himself a sandwich, trying to shake of the uneasy feeling that had settled in his stomach.

He looked outside the window, the streets empty and the sun nowhere in sight. He found his mind going back to thinking about Shouyou and how different he had become ever since he found him in that forest. He learned how to trust again and had even made a kind of friend, perhaps even solidified his relationship with his volleyball teammates. He missed him, but he knew he couldn’t go out unless he wanted to be shouted at by his mother.

He recalled how magical it felt to be in Shouyou’s presence and how they brought the best in each other. They teased each other, calling each other “idiot” and “dumbass” all the time, but at the end of the day, Tobio knew neither of them wanted to live a life without the other. As he tried to recall how soft the orange golden hair felt between his fingers, he went to the couch and fell asleep.

He was woken up by his mother shaking him by his shoulders. He sat up in a panic, but his mother looked more tired than panicked. Seeing the orange pink clouds outside, he realized he had slept for more than nine hours. For some reason, he still felt tired.

“The earthquake’s over.” His mother said, rubbing at her eyes. “Some empty buildings collapsed, but no one got hurt. Oh, and the forest in front of that convenience store had a lot of debris on it, so they decided to just scrap it for a parking lot or something. You go there sometimes, right?”

Kageyama felt a knot in his throat. “What? It’s gone?”

He suddenly felt light-headed and uncomfortable. She nodded at him, too tired to question why he cared so much for a piece of land. He stood up, not minding the way the world seemed to spin around him.

“I need to get something from the store.” He proclaimed, amazed at his ability to form actual sentences, fully aware of the anxiety swimming in his head.

She waved her hand at him. “Be careful of aftershocks, Tobio. Always have your phone with you.”

Before she could finish her sentence, Tobio was already putting on his shoes, biting his lip. He had to see for himself, even though the feeling at the back of his mind that already told him of what was in store for him. He stopped at the sight.

Where there used to be trees standing proudly below the sunlight, there was only a cemented floor with leaves as the only proof of life ever being there. Tobio’s mind kept replaying memories of the place it used to be in his mind, all focused on Shouyou. The first time he brought food to share with him, the first time he brought a volleyball and laughed as Shouyou hit himself on the head while trying to receive, the first time he noticed how small Shouyou’s fingers looked intertwined in his, the first time he realized how soft Shouyou’s lips felt against his. He took deep breaths as he walked toward it, not minding the questioning stares the workers sent him.

“Hey, kid, this is a restricted area. It’s dangerous, so you can’t come close.”

The words registered in his head, but he stood still as if he couldn’t understand, biting his lips at the implications of the hard ground and the absence of branch cracking beneath his old sneakers. The lot looked clean and modern, even when littered with bunches of leaves and flowers. It made him feel uncomfortable, so he turned away, much to the relief of the people working on it. He couldn’t believe a place that housed so many enchanting memories could change so quickly, so abruptly. He felt like the act of changing it had taken a part of him away, a part of him that revolved largely around Shouyou and he suddenly closed his eyes, his thoughts barraging on him like missiles on a battleground.

The forest was gone. He wouldn’t see it again. Shouyou was gone. He wouldn’t see Shouyou again.

The memories in his head replayed so much that it seemed like a dream more than a reality and he hated it. He wanted it to feel real forever. He wanted Shouyou’s hands in his to be there and real and happening. He reached out his hand in front of him without thinking.

A spot of sunlight appeared on it and he looked up. He couldn’t stop his tears from falling when he realized there was a small opening between the clouds that made it possible to project a beam of sunlight on his palm, exactly where Shouyou’s hand would be if he was there.

Shouyou wasn’t gone. He was just back to where he was before.

Tobio smiled at the sky, the most of a smile he could give amongst his swelling feelings of craving for Shouyou’s presence. He could almost see Shouyou smile back at him as the clouds parted to wash over his whole body with sunlight. He could almost feel Shouyou enveloping him in warmth, like he always did and never even thought to think about how it would feel without him.

That’s not true. He was still with Tobio, just in a different form. Tobio sniffed and wiped at his face.

“You shouldn’t have scared me like that, dumbass! You worried me.” He said quietly and could almost hear Shouyou’s shouts of “You’re the dumbass, dumbass!!”

He didn’t question the small spot of sunlight that walked him back home, still missing Shouyou’s physical form but understanding that it would never have been permanent anyway. He should have known, but at that moment, he didn’t have space to think about that when he could hear Shouyou’s laughs against his ears and Shouyou’s lips against his neck.

No one knew why Kageyama Tobio clutched a rock that vaguely resembled a dog in his hands at the end of that day.


End file.
